Environmental contaminants include the potentially toxic metals lead, cadmium and mercury; the chlorinated pesticides mirex, toxaphene and hexachlorobenzene; chlorinated dioxins and furans; polyaromatic hydrocarbons; and polychlorinated biphenyls. While many of these chemicals are resistant to degradation in the natural environment, they dissolve readily in oils and thus accumulate in the fatty...

The luxCDABE bioluminescence genes of the Vibrio fischeri lux system have been used as a reporter system for different stress and regulatory promoters of Escherichia coli. Selected E. coli strains carrying lux genes fused to different promoters were exposed to various toxic chemicals, and the recorded luminescence was used for the characterization of the biologic signature of each compound. Ana...

The effects of polychlorinated biphenyl plasticizers, like those of many other environmental chemicals ("synthetic chemicals to which man is exposed by either voluntary or involuntary means"), on biological systems are not too well understood. When research by our group at the University of Wisconsin indicated in 1969 (1) that several of the Aroclor compounds increased the toxicity of DDT and d...

Introduction Remediation of environment polluted with toxic chemical warfare agents (CWA) is a challenging task for authorities who deal with public health and environmental safety. Abnormal health symptoms appear when the human beings are exposed to these hazardous chemicals. Decontamination of surface or environment tainted with these toxic chemicals is the main job we have to do, to avoid he...

use of nano-materials has increased in various aspects of human life. however, possible outbreak of nano-materials toxicity in humans and other organisms is one of the future challenges. different chemical precursors which are used in chemical approaches for production of nano-materials may have secondary and sometimes toxic effects in living organisms. these secondary effects may be reduced in...